The crew departed from the Canary Islands after bad weather delayed their trip for about a month.

Fresh bread
Smith delivered a farewell speech — in nearly impeccable Spanish — to a crowd gathered on the dock and then waved goodbye.

The raft, named "An-Tiki" after Thor Heyerdahl's famous Kon-Tiki raft, was loaded with food including oranges, avocados, potatoes, cabbages and a pumpkin. Once the store-bought bread was consumed, sailing master David Hildred began making it from scratch in a small oven.

Hildred, a civil engineer who lives in the British Virgin Islands, also was summoned to help fix the rudders that broke three days into the trip.

The raft was built with four water supply pipes nearly 40 feet long, and 14 cross pipes.

Seven pipes held the crew's fresh water supply.

"Water strikes at the very heart of need," Smith told the U.K.'s Press Association news agency. "To voyage almost 3,000 miles upon the salty kind makes us intensely aware of places in the world that are without adequate supplies."

The raft also had a nearly 40-foot long mast and a 400-square-foot sail. Twin rudders provided the steering, along with centerboards and two oars.

The raft traveled at an average speed of 4 knots, with the crew taking turns to keep watch when they were not reading or playing cards.

"I think all of us enjoyed our night watches when it was just oneself for company," Smith said. "Not an awful lot to see, but it was great."

'Mutiny'
A whale played alongside the raft one day, and a school of mahi-mahi followed the raft almost the entire journey, said crew member John Russell, 61, of Britain.

"The wildlife was just fantastic," he said. "There is nothing to be scared of. We were all old men."

Halfway across the Atlantic, Smith celebrated his 85th birthday with a chocolate cake that his doctor, Andrew Bainbridge, cooked on board.

The crew intended to end their trip in the Bahamas, but strong winds and currents forced them to the Dutch Caribbean island of St. Maarten.

"Yes, of course it's a success," Smith said with a smile. "How many people do you know who have rafted across the Atlantic? ... The word mutiny was only spoken about two or three times a day."